when the lights go off (sokeefe)
by PoptartsAndBooks
Summary: sophie's life has just settled down. the neverseen were underground, or so they thought. but another tragedy has befallen the lost cities, and worse, sophie isn't sure she can survive it. rated T for swearing and mentions of suicide
1. what happened, foster?

She was curled up in a ball, silently crying. Her back was pressed against the cool crystal of Everglen's gates. Her face was buried in Ella as she cried.

The vision of the fire was burned into her eyelids. The fire that had taken her home, her family.

Grady and Edaline were gone. Dead. And with it, Sophie's home. So she sat against Everglen's gates, at 3 in the morning, waiting until they came out. Fitz didn't believe her as she sent thoughts into his mind, thought she was a nightmare.

Sophie Foster sat, a crying, puffy mess, until morning. She must have fallen asleep at some point, because when she came back to consciousness, she was sprawled on the ground. She quickly sat up, confused at where she was.

Then it hit her, and so many emotions build up inside her that she started screaming. Lights flicked on in Everglen and Keefe came barreling out the front door, running straight to her and opening the gates.

Sophie stood up and stumbled into his open arms as she sobbed. Ella was squished in between them. Keefe slowly led her inside, keeping his arms around her. He let her go as she sank down onto the couch, hiding from all of the pitiful stares behind Ella.

Keefe sat down next to her, shooing the others out of the room. "What happened, Foster?"

"I-I.." Her voice trailed off and she couldn't finish the sentence. As if on cue, Fitz came into the room.

"Can I enter your mind to see what happened?" Fitz asked. She hated it. The concerned, loving voice he was giving her. She knew full well he didn't give a damn about her, was just pretending to. It made her want to vomit. But she begrudgingly nodded, knowing it'd be better than having to talk about it. So Fitz's warm hands placed themselves on her forehead and he slipped into her memories.

He started sweating almost immediately. Next, he started coughing. When he finally pulled his hands away, he was shaking. Sophie started crying again, burying her face in Keefe's tunic. He wrapped an arm around her, whispering "Shh, it's okay, Sophie. Shh." Fitz stumbled over to Keefe and muttered what had happened into Keefe's ear.

Keefe's icy eyes widened and started welling up. "You-you're joking, right?" When Fitz said nothing, he turned to Sophie. "He's joking." Sophie looked down and shook her head and Keefe covered his hand with his mouth.

"I'm going to tell the others," Fitz said. "You guys should probably be there." Sophie started to shake her head, but Keefe sent a calming breeze into her head. He must have removed her gloves at some point.

Fitz started to leave the room, and Keefe helped Sophie up, placing a protective arm around her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Soph," he murmured. He led her out into the dining room, where everyone was standing.

Linh, Biana, Tam, Dex, Marella, and Wylie were standing in a line. Alden and the entire Black Swan Collective, Juline, Kesler, and Della were also there. Fitz stood, head hanging in the center of the room. Sophie could feel the eyes of all the people in the room finding their way to hers. Her face, hair, and clothes were burnt. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was coughing. A lot.

So she hid behind Keefe's sweatshirt. She hid from the stares, hid from the pity. Hid from reality.

Fitz let out a sigh. Mr Forkle spoke up, saying "What happened? We need to know now, Fitz."

Fitz looked 1000 years younger standing there, as he muttered "Neverseen burned down Havenfield. Grady and Edaline didn't-" he choked on a sob. "-didn't make it out."

The room was silent as everyone processed the information. Sophie buried her face deep into Keefe while he sent happy breezes through her mind. Then Juline let out a wail and sank to the ground, which triggered reactions. Della and Alden just seemed to be in shock. Biana came over to Keefe and Sophie, talking to Keefe about Sophie. Her voice was warm and concerned. Kesler was crouched down, comforting his sobbing wife. Dex and Tam just seemed to be in shock.

Finally Linh spoke up. "Where is Sophie going to live?" Sophie whimpered and Keefe wrapped his arm tighter around her.

"She can stay here," Biana volunteered.

"We don't have any guest rooms left, Biana," Della said. "Keefe took the last one." Keefe shook his head apologetically.

"I know," Biana said. "She can stay with me, in my room." The brunette glanced at Sophie, who nodded in agreement. Della's eyes were watery as she agreed. Sophie was led upstairs by Biana and Keefe. Some part of her hated it, being treated like a puppy. But she knew she'd collapse without them. So she let them lead her to Biana's plush bed, where she placed Ella.

Head hanging, she stepped into Biana's huge bathroom and locked the door, turning on the shower. She stepped under the freezing strands of water, shivering. Sophie never wanted to feel heat again. She twisted and washed her hair, watching as the burnt bits fell out and sank down the drain. Once she was clean, she stepped out of the shower, placing her hand on the sensor and letting the tingle run through her body and dry her hair. It floated down around her shoulders in a shimmery curtain. She found that Biana had slipped a pair of pajamas under the door.

She slipped out of the sopping wet, burnt clothes she had on and tossed them in the garbage can, before slipping into the bright purple onesie. It had fuzzy feet and a hood with kitten ears on it. She scrubbed her face, before slipping the hood on and stepping out into Biana's carpeted bedroom.

Biana and Keefe were in hushed conversation on the bed. Sophie heard her name multiple times, but decided to ignore them. She grabbed Ella and went to the couch in Biana's room. Warm lips planted a kiss on her forehead, and she clung onto that as she sunk into sleep.

**haha, new story! i hope y´all enjoyed! make sure to leave a review, they are my motivation to continue! ~poptart**


	2. she's strong, keefe

**Keefe's POV**

Keefe paced back in forth in the Everglen living room. Biana and Dex were talking in hushed whispers on the couch. Linh was with Della in the kitchen, making mallowmelt out of stress, mostly. Fitz was arguing with Mr. Forkle outside, trying to get him to take them to Havenfield to see the damage. Forkle was convinced it was dangerous. "I'm worried about her," Keefe confessed, breaking the awkward silence. "I- she's been through so much that I'm afraid that this might break her."

"We thought the same thing about you once," Dex said. "But look at you now."

"Its- its just that she's lost two families now. Alden and Della are great, but they aren't her human parents or the people she'd grown to love." Keefe sank down to the floor.

Biana's soft voice interjected. "She's strong, Keefe. She'll hold on, for you if nothing else." Keefe blushed and rolled his eyes.

"She likes Fitz," he said, ignoring the wave of sadness that radiated through him at those words. Dex started to shake his head but Biana kicked his heel before he could. Suddenly, Fitz and Mr. Forkle came back in, Mr. Forkle looking exasperated.

"Looks like I'm taking you kids to Havenfield." Keefe looked up, seemingly excited. Biana and Dex rose from the couch and Tam emerged from whatever room he'd been in.

"Should I go get Linh?" Biana asked, her voice slightly shaky. Forkle nodded, sorrow filling his every feature. His head drooped slightly and his steps were slow and unstable. Keefe placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Forklenator."

"Yours neither, minor annoyance." At this, Keefe smiled weakly as Biana and Linh trodded out of the kitchen. Forkle held up a crystal and they all stepped in, bracing themselves for whatever horror they were about to see.

As they glittered into sight, Keefe whirled around immediately to brace himself. It was only then that he was struck by a horrible thought.

"Where's Sandor?"

**hey guys! i'm sorry this one is so short, i just wanted to post something. if you guys have any ideas or ships (other than sophie and keefe) that you'd like to see, please comment them! i'd love to see them. i don't mean to be one to beg, but your guys' reviews and follows really make my day. thank you :)**

**now time for reading responses!**

**boookkksss - thank you for the favorite and follow, btw! and i know, i'm mentally beating myself for killing the king and queen**

**Sofie Foster- RIGHT. like i both hate and love it too-**

**gb11 - thank youuu**

**Rain and Shadows- i'm throwing a big NO U your way - ur stories are so good and thank you!**

**KOTLCexpert521- trust me, there was screaming and crying involved. LOL.**

**TheBookReadingUnicorn/xooana- thank you for the advice! i really appreciate it- and thank you for reading my story so early! i wrote this little segment a while ago, but i'm working on adding lots of details and things you need to know to understand the story that i overlooked while writing this.**

**no caps purposefully- [ I DO NOT OWN KOTLC. IF I DID THERE WOULD BE GAY SHIPS ]**

**thank you, next! (chapter)**

**\- poptart - **


	3. nightmare

**Sophie's POV**

The heat licked up her legs like tongues and the smoke was weaving through her hair and around her neck. The heat stared into her eyes until liquid started dripping from them. The blood leaking from her eyes dripped down her face and she froze, watching the crystal ceiling crash dow-

Sophie woke up with a scream, bolting upright in terror. She could feel the rose pink comforter shifting as her legs trembled, and her fists were bunching and un-bunching. She clambered out of the bed, eyes tracing the crystal chandelier over her head. She almost expected it to start leaking burning diamond.

She padded downstairs, feet making no noise on the carpeted floor, to see everyone gone. She let out a small sigh of relief, shoulders drooping and walked to the pantry. Sophie tried so hard to distract herself, but every time she closed her eyes she could only see the white outline of the fire.

She grabbed a box of Prattles and curled up on the plush couch, taking a book from the table. **(I imagine Sophie would be a bookworm if she wasn't so caught up with the Neverseen.) **Flipping the book to the beginning, she began to read.

She had trouble focusing on the book at the start, had trouble following the characters, Rose and Lissa. Eventually, she got caught up in it and couldn't stop reading. Well, she couldn't stop until her friends stormed back into the house.

Keefe was crying, though whether they were happy or sad tears Sophie wasn't sure. He ran straight to her and wrapped her in his arms, stabbing himself on the corner of the book but not seeming to care. Biana looked on at them, starting to smile. Then something crossed over her mind, sending a shadow over her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, mind flashing through all of the worst scenarios. Dex stepped forward, worry in his periwinkle eyes, and said "It's bad, but it could've been worse."

Sophie slumped, Keefe cradling her like she was weak. She saw Dex shuffle his feet, saying "C'mon Sophie. We've gotta light leap."

The blonde slowly clambered to her feet, brown eyes dark with fatigue and worry. Keefe had his arm behind her, not touching her but there to keep her moving. Butterflies jumped in her stomach. The wings of the butterflies had slowly been shifting from teal to icy blue, Sophie had noticed. She wasn't totally sure what it meant, the shifting of the butterflies.

Keefe grabbed Sophie's hand and sent warm breezes through her head, though they weren't as clear as they normally were. "Foxfire Healing Centre," Biana said to the Leapmaster. Only with the help of the brunette girl on her left and the blonde one on the right was Sophie able to make those steps into the Leapmaster.

The light pulled them away, and Sophie had to fight the urge to run into the walls of the shimmering beam. The light fragments wrapped themselves around her, and she embraced them. She didn't want to get out, wanted to let the light carry her on forever.

_You have to be here for Keefe, _a voice not entirely her own said.

Only with that reminder was she able to hop out of the light beam, collapsing on the soft grass outside the Healing Centre. The grass was almost as soft as the light. She was barefoot, she realized.

Biana's hand tugged on hers and they stepped inside the Healing Centre, where Dex was speaking in hushed tones to Elwin. The usually happy physician had bags under his eyes and his shoulders drooped, but he beckoned them back anyway.

When Sophie saw the patients in such a similar position to her and Fitz not too long ago, she took the plummeting fall out of the bright, soft world she'd been in not 30 seconds ago and back into the one where the floor felt like glass.

Sandor and Ro were lying in the beds in front of her.

_***takes deep breath***_

**hey, fam. i think the last time i updated was like, 5 months ago? sorry about that.**

**i'm just gonna be straight with you guys and say i'm sorry. i've been stressed with school, homework, other online obligations, art, and just generally not been doing great with mental health for a while. i've also been trying to learn more about myself (which led to me accidentally getting an amazing girlfriend, yay!) including finding what i actually enjoy doing and finding my sexuality, etc. **

**i let myself get off track on here and on my deviantart account, and i'm really sorry for that. anyway, i've come back to here and back to writing. i don't know if anyone's still here with me, but i'm alive again and i'm gonna TRY to update a little bit more regularly.**

**on a separate note, can anyone guess the book i had sophie reading? i've been obsessed with it lately (and warrior cats, but that's like a 5-6 year obsession at this point) and i wanna see if anyone can guess it. *winks***

**i hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you'd like to see more, please let me know and give me ideas in reviews! love youu! - **_poptart -_


	4. maybe it would be better

**Keefe's POV**

"Why's Ro here?" Sophie's shattered, small voice echoed around the silent room.

Forkle sighed. "We're guessing that she went in to save Sandor, some act of platonic love, and they got trapped. It's a miracle that they survived."

Keefe wrapped his arm around Sophie, pulling the trembling girl closer to him. "They're going to be okay, right?" He was shaken at the sight of Ro, even though he'd known about her condition previously. He'd always gone to the ogre when he needed support that elves couldn't give to him, and now he couldn't. He might never be able to again.

"I'm hoping they'll make a recovery," Elwin cut in, "but I can't make any guarantees. Sandor's injuries are much more severe than Ro's, but I can't be sure any of them will be entirely the same after."

The emotions radiating off Sophie almost knocked Keefe over when he focused on them. There was raw grief, anger, but mostly guilt.

"Sophie. Sophie, look at me. Look at me!" Keefe's voice cracked. "Don't beat yourself up over this. You know what guilt could do to you, Foster." Keefe began to cry softly. "Don't do that to yourself, please, Foster. We'd have no way to get you back."

Sophie looked away, eyes trained on the ground. She didn't say it out loud, but he knew what she was thinking.

_Maybe it would be better if I broke._

**what's that? an update? who woulda thought?**

**the one person following this story: *cheering noises***

**literally everyone else: *sarcasm* wow. yay. good freaking job. we care so much. wow.**

**i hope yall are enjoying this at least a little bit so yes**


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